Physical activity levels in Danish adults with and without asthma - A national recurrent cross-sectional casecontrol study from 2010 to 2021.

INTRODUCTION: Physical activity (PA) and exercise are considered essential components of asthma management and for improving overall asthma control.
AIM: To investigate statistically significant change in self-reported PA levels (PAL) among Danish individuals with asthma from 2010 to 2021. Secondly, to compare PAL between individuals with and without asthma in 2010 and 2021.
METHODS: Data were derived from the ongoing National Danish Health Profile in 2010 (n= 172,226) and 2021 (n=178,875). Respondents with self-reported asthma, no COPD and complete PA data were matched with the background population on survey year, age, sex and educational level. Data included PAL, physical- and mental health, sleep-disturbance, pain inference, comorbidities, demographic, and behavioral factors.
RESULTS: 11,842 asthma cases and controls in 2010 and 16,152 in 2021 (60% females, mean±SD age 49±17 yr) were analyzed. Proportional asthma cases engaging in moderate/vigorous PA decreased from 2010 to 2021 (27% vs 21%, respectively, p< 0.001). In both 2010 and 2021, a significant smaller proportion of asthma cases engaged in moderate/vigorous PA compared to controls (27% vs. 29%, p< 0.001, and 20% vs. 21%, p< 0.001, respectively). The adjusted multinominal regression model revealed that having asthma in 2021 was negatively associated with moderate/vigorous PA (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.73; 0.97).
CONCLUSION: Physical activity level has declined over the past decade for people with and without asthma. Self-reported asthma is associated with being less moderate or vigorous active..